Congratulations: You’re new to your organization, and the obligatory “meet and greets” are complete. You have met your team, your supervisor has conveyed expectations, your office is organized and—most important—you now know how to get to and from the coffee machine. The euphoria of getting the new job is over; now, what do you do?

Implementing 6S, the lean strategy for reducing waste and optimizing efficiency in a manufacturing environment, is more than just creating work protocols that people must follow. Because that’s the thing about people: If they don’t know the “why,” they are less likely to buy in to any initiative, especially one that requires significant changes in the way they work and think, simply because they “must.”

Organizations worldwide stand to lose an estimated $9 billion in 2018 to employees clicking on phishing emails. We hear about new phishing attacks regularly from the news and from our friends. So why do so many people still click? NIST research has uncovered one reason, and the findings could help CIOs mount a better defense.

Requirements are the information that best communicates to an engineer what to build, and to a quality-assurance manager what to test.

A requirement has three functions:
• Defines what you are planning to create
• Identifies what a product needs to do and what it should look like
• Describes the product’s functionality and value

‘Culture” is one of those business-speak words that’s used a lot, but for a good reason—having the right one is the key to unlocking your company’s quality potential. On the other hand, nothing will overcome a poor culture. Do you know which you have? We explored these issues during the Aug. 10, 2018, episode of QDL.

Founded in 1947, in Veles, Macedonia, BRAKO produces parts and components used in medical devices, road sweeper trucks, airport ground equipment, forklift accessories, metal-welded constructions, small hydro plants, telecommunications shelters, and antenna towers.

As manufacturing finds its way through the 21st century, there’s a groundswell change emerging. Organizations are jockeying for competitive position as they endeavor to describe this phenomenon. Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, and the industrial internet of things (IIoT) are a few terms being tried on for size. Although the current transition is enabled by technology, there is a timeless underlying impetus: productivity.

How do workers move up the corporate ladder, and how can they maximize their career mobility?

There is a proliferation of management system standards and requirements globally. These management system standards are either customer or industry mandated. Many standards are becoming a requirement for doing business.

‘In God we trust; all others bring data.” “Follow the data.” “Let the data talk.” Nice clichés, but there’s one problem... data can’t talk. In fact, data don’t say a darn thing. Data are bits of raw information. If you want to reduce product variation, improve your manufacturing processes, and increase profits, you need to interrogate and analyze your data.